Research: Private Cloud Vision vs. Reality

Mike Fratto06/02/12

How Successful Are Those Private Clouds, Anyway?

It's 2012. Does your organization have a private cloud in production? If so, you're in the minority, according to our InformationWeek 2012 Private Cloud Survey--21% of 414 respondents have clouds in place now, with an additional 30% starting down the road. Even though there's been a lot of buzz about cloud computing in general and private cloud specifically, these results aren't that surprising. The number of new processes IT needs to build a private cloud is daunting--think defining runbooks, modifying change control to meet automated demands and a general shift in management strategies--and then you still need new products, CMDBs and orchestration platforms to tie everything together.

So is it all worth it? To find out, we took a new approach to this survey by breaking it into three parts. We asked respondents if their organizations had, were building or did not have private clouds. Then we asked specific questions for each group. In this report, we'll highlight differences between expectations and reality and call out some lessons learned from our respondents.

The big takeaway? Those with private clouds experience more efficient use of hardware and superior scalability and reliability, and they make better use of IT's time. These are all measurable benefits that can make your IT department shine in the eyes of users and the CFO. Those with private clouds also report success in lowering capital and operational costs and total cost of ownership. There are some keys to success, though: Have a well-thought-out migration plan. Make sure new software can leverage the scaling and reliability features of your private cloud, and be prepared to train employees on the new systems. They'll love you for it, and you'll get better results. (R4840612)